Service clubs unite to host Oktoberfest in Ewing Park

ELLWOOD CITY — Don your lederhosen and raise a stein in a toast to Oktoberfest.

The autumn festival Oct. 6 in Ewing Park, hosted by the Ellwood City’s Wolves Club Den II, is a fundraiser for the club and also the Lions and Rotary clubs.

The celebration includes music, food, beer-tasting and games, with a cornhole tournament beginning at 1 p.m.

Norman Laszlo, a member of the Lions, said that for the last few years, the Wolves Club has been working to form relationships with the other service clubs.

“The service clubs getting together is a good thing,” he said. “We do a lot of the same things, and we can help each other by doing this together.”

Ewing Park is the perfect place for a fall event, and D’Addio’s Family Nursery in Franklin Township will make it more festive by setting up cornstalks and other harvest decorations.

A number of locally brewed beers will be available for visitors to taste. Pete’s Uptown is the official beer sponsor, and Bryan Downs, owner, said there will be about 50 craft beers giving people the opportunity to taste lesser-known brews. Craft beers are beers from small breweries or microbreweries, and they each have their fans. The Porter House Home Brew Shop and local beer makers will be there with samples of their wares.

The committee stresses that Oktoberfest is not a drinking event; the beer is served an inch or two in a 3-ounce-size glass to sample. Chairman Mike DeOtto said that although there has never been a problem, there will be security at the event.

Wolves Club member Ralph Chiapetta will be making beer floats with ice cream, and Martin “Doc” Barsotti will be making nonalcoholic lemon blend. Bruce Thallman, representing the Rotary Club, is making homemade root beer. McDonald’s is supplying the ice. Water and coffee are also part of the menu.

No Oktoberfest would be complete without an abundance of food. But besides traditional German food, the offerings will reflect the diverse mix of heritages in the Ellwood City area.

Lil DeLoia and Evelyn Carrozza, along with the kitchen helpers from Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, will be making their popular pizza. Nico Luciano’s is donating fresh dough, and Antionette DiBello is going to turn it into pepperoni rolls that visitors will be able to smell baking in the ovens.

The menu also includes the Wolves’ signature fish and chips, bratwurst and sauerkraut, hot dogs, meatball sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, haluski made by Lynn Smilek from an old family recipe, pepperoni rolls and rolls with greens, pizza, french fries, and German potato salad by Mary Jo Carusone and her son, Joe Carusone.

Music is an important part of an Oktoberfest. Ellwood City doesn’t have a German oompah band, but Josh Ottaviani, chairman of the entertainment committee, obtained a grant from the Ellwood City Enrichment Fund to offer live music from 3 to 5:30 p.m. by The Dorals of New Castle offering the big-band sound. D Major, an Ellwood City group, will also be performing from noon until 2:30 p.m.

Veronica Pacella, director of the Ellwood City Area Public Library, and the Friends of the library group will be offering an extensive bake sale and coffee with all the proceeds going to the library.

There will be many gift baskets and other items for the raffle. Tickets will be available at the event.

Thalmann said the Rotary and Lions clubs are helping the Wolves by selling tickets, distributing fliers, and assisting on the day of the event in any way needed.

“This is a way to better serve the community. The more successful the event is the more all of the organizations have to give back to the community,” he said.

All proceeds will be used for scholarships and/or local charities.

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